ASAE & the Center for Association Leadership

COSLA

2007Spring Meeting

Monday, April 30, 2007

ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership

Washington, DC

General Meeting Minutes

1

Members Present:

Ashcraft, Carolyn (AR)
Boksenbaum, Howard (RI)
Boughton, Lesley (WY)
Budler, Jo (OH)
Conroy, Margaret (MO)
Goble, David (SC)
Grobschmidt, Richard (WI)
Hildreth, Susan (CA)
Hainer, Eugene (CO)
Joslin, Ann (ID)
Liegl, Dorothy (SD)
Maier, Robert (MA)
McShane, Sybil (VT)
McVey, Susan (OK)
Miller, Suzanne (MN)
Morris, Donna Jones (UT)
Nichols, Gary (ME)
Norman, Annie (DE)
Onkst, Wayne (KY)
Padilla, Irene (MD)
Ring, Judi (FL)
Scheppke, Jim (OR)
Shelton, Kay (AK)
Smith, Sharman B. (MS)
Staffeldt, Darlene (MT)
Sugg, Jeanne (TN)
Veatch, Lamar (GA)
Waggoner, J.D. (WV)
Wagner, Rod (NE)
Walsh, Jan (WA)
Wegner, Mary (IA)
Welch, Janet (NY)
Wiggin, Ken (CT)
Yelich, Nolan (VA)
York, Michael (NH)
Member Designates:
Cole, Barbara for Clare Zales (PA)
Galbraith, Marc for Christie Pearson Brandau (KS)
Keresztury, Tina for Norma Blake (NJ)
Poole, Joy for Richard Akeroyd (NM)
Starr, Karen for Guy Rocha (NV)
Guests Present:
Bittner, Mamie (IMLS)
Brown, Terri (IMLS)
Cabot, Robin (IMLS)
Chute, Mary (IMLS)
Darnell, Riley (TN)
Deeney, Marian (FL)
Desch, Carol (NY)
Flowers, Loretta (FL)
Mackintosh, Esther (FSHC)
Schull, Diantha Dow (ALC)
Sheketoff, Emily (ALA-WA)
Smith, George (IMLS)
Todd, Mary Linda (NY)
Wilkins, Barrett (FL)
Zalesk, Allison (IMLS)
Staff Present:
Singler, Laura (AMR)

1

Call to Order/Welcome

President Nichols called the meeting to order at 12:40pm EDT.

President’s Report – Gary Nichols

Nichols welcomed Wayne Onkst, Howard Boksenbaum, David Goble and Joy Poole to their first COSLA meeting. Nichols proceeded to make general announcements. Nichols introduced the two new COSLA committees including the Urban Library Council (ULC) Committee which Susan Hildreth chairs along with members Jo Budler, Judith Ring and Peggy Rudd. Nichols also announced that Christie Pearson Brandau would serve as the liaison to the Federation of State Humanities Councils (FSHC). Clare Zales will serve as the new COSLA representative to the IMLS funded state-wide public library disaster planning project.

A letter was sent on the behalf of COSLA to Mark Seifert of the House Commerce Committee to thank him for his kind words addressing the importance of libraries and their work with telecommunications and the e-rate program. As a representative of COSLA, Nichols attended the E-Rate’s 10th Anniversary Celebrationheld at the National Botanic Gardens. Nichols noted that the attendees at the celebration included every FCC commissioner except one as well as Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV), Senator Olympia Snow (R-ME) and Representative Ed Markey (D-MA).

Nichols reported that a proposal was made to the Executive Board regarding sponsorship of the Development Director’s Meeting. The Executive Board made the decision to table the proposal for now. Nichols and McVey will get more details and bring the information back to the Executive Board for a decision at a later date. Nichols announced that there will be a full report regarding COSLA’s investments at the Fall Meeting.

FSHC – Esther MacIntosh

Nichols introduced Esther MacIntosh from the Federation of State Humanities Councils (FSHC). MacIntosh gave a brief history of FSHC. FSHC was founded in 1977 as a membership organization and, in 1986, offices were established and the organization relocated to Washington,D.C. Advocacy became the primary task of FSHC at that time. FSHC now has three major focus areas including leadership, advocacy, and communications/organization development. FSHC hosts Humanities on the Hill annually and is currently expanding their services to the councils. These services include the gathering of data,providing reports and providing tools to overcome development issues.

MacIntosh commented on the commonalities between FSHCand COSLA. One similarity is that that they are both represented in every state and both find strength in addressing the needs in those states and the smaller areas within the states. In addition, both FSHC andCOSLA are a part of a larger group. COSLA is closely associated with ALA and FSHC is a part of the National Humanities Alliance (NHA), which includes 90 organizations. FSHC holds a permanent seat on the NHA board.

Nichols and MacIntosh will collaborate on how they can work together in the future. Nichols commented that he is looking forward to developing the relationship between COSLA and FSHC.

Report from the Secretary – Gary Nichols (Rebecca Mitchell was absent.)

Nichols announced that the approval of the Midwinter Membership Minutes will be postponed to the next meeting.

Report from the Treasurer – Annie Norman

Norman called for any questions regarding the COSLA February Financial Report that was circulated among the membership. None were raised.

Normanannounced the Executive Board approval of a $3,000 sponsorship toward the IMLS Anniversary Reception.

COSLA Institute – Nolan Yelich

Yelich reported that the COSLA Institute has received 35 applications to date. Yelich and Jane Pearlmutter will be meeting during the next two weeks to approve the participants for the COSLA Institute. Yelich reminded the COSLA Membership that the COSLA Institute will be held August 12-16, 2007 and he expressed appreciation for all thesupporters of the program. Yelich reported that there was a meeting in December 2006 where the program and suggestions for the program were reviewed. It was decided that they were trying to do too much in too little time.

The 2007 Institute will have the same basic framework as the 2006 Institute, but will include some minor modifications. There will be four case studies instead of six. The case studies will include a public policy case study, an advocacy case study, a collaboration case study and a case study where the state library has alienated the legislative government from within the state. To allow participants more time to have discussions with panel members there will be two hours for panel discussion instead of one. There will be more of an emphasis on leadership this year and what leadership means within state library agencies.

Nichols recognized Yelich for his time spent in COSLA. Yelich has been the State Librarian of Virginia and a member of COSLA since 1994. Yelich thanked Nichols and made a suggestion that COSLA establish a listserv to allow retired state librarians the ability to stay in touch with the current membership.

All-In-One Membership – Sally Reed, Friends of Libraries U.S.A. (FOLUSA)

Reed thanked the COSLA Membership for allowing her time on the meeting agenda. Reed announced that Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) received the FOLUSA Public Service Award.

Reed reported that FOLUSA has a new initiative which is to understand the importance of advocacy at the grassroots level. FOLUSA wants to work with the lay people collectively and strengthen their voice. Reed reported that FOLUSA also wants to educate the users of libraries on the uniqueness of libraries. FOLUSA will start hosting web casts and conducting web training to reach people who would otherwise not be reached. Reed explained that FOLUSA is unique in its reach to lay supporters and FOLUSA wants to extend their reach and would like to utilize COSLA’s support to do so.

Reed introduced FOLUSA’s All-In-One Membership which allows Friends, Trustees and Library Foundations to come together and work collectively on behalf of the library. Reed reported that Nebraska has already purchased an All-In-One Membership and that there are discount prices available.

Public Library Valuation– Diantha Dow Schull, ALC

Schull thanked Nichols and Hildreth for the invitation to speak. Schull announced that the public valuation report previously circulated had an incorrect title. The correct title is “Worth Their Wait.” The report is meant for library managers. “Worth Their Wait” presents the findings from an assessment of the emerging field of public library valuation carried out by Americans for Libraries Council (ALC) as part of its Building Knowledge for Advocacy initiative, supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. ALC and the Gates Foundation brought together two experts, Jennifer Arns, University of South Carolina and Dr. Susan Imholz, ALC Consultant who collected 18 studies to try to look at the commonalities and the differences within the studies. Schull noted that this report captures a moment in time and new studies are being done all the time.

Schull gave a brief summary of the report, its findings, and its recommendations. The report can be found at and will be available on May 5, 2007.

There will be a panel discussion at the ALA Conference on June 25, 2007 discussing “ROI as an Advocacy Tool for Libraries: What is it worth?” The panel discussion will be moderated by KenWiggin and there will be a set of case studies explored at the local, county and state levels.

Schull announced that the award recipients for the First Annual ALC Voices for America’s Libraries Awards included Pete Gomes, Susan Jacoby, Sibyl Jacobson and Fred Kent.

IMLS – Annie Norman/Mary Chute

Norman made a brief announcement that the Heritage Preservation and IMLS will hold a National Conservation Summit in Washington,D.C. at the end of June. In addition, Norman was a speaker at an AAM Conversation on Federal Funding in Washington,D.C. on March 30, 2007. At the Conversation, Norman participated in the panel discussion: “A Look at Current Federal/State Partnerships for Arts, Humanities and Libraries.”

Chute introduced Carlos Munoz to the COSLA Membership. As a part of the New Americans Library Initiative, Munoz is distributing tool kits that will help new legal immigrants assimilate and become U.S. citizens. Munoz has sent an email detailing this effort to twenty-six states that are experiencing more immigration than other states. Public librarians can go to the IMLS website and order the toolkits at the end of June. There will be 10,000 available. Chute circulated a quick questionnaire regarding the Civics and Citizenship Toolkit.

Chute reported that the Summer Reading ProgramOBE encountered a problem because there was not a contract for services in place. IMLS is unable to post and support the survey. You can print the survey off the website. Norman noted that Delawarewill utilize a paper copy of the survey. Chute reported that there will be a new and improved survey available online in 2008.

Chute proceeded to make several general announcements regarding IMLS. A memo was circulated on Federal LSTA Grant Allowable Costs. IMLS is moving ahead with library consolidation for the 2008 budget. IMLS is reviewing the Big Read application. Chute reported that the Big Read could be in every state by the end of this round. Chute asked the COSLA membership whether or not they would be interested in sending a third person at their own expense to the IMLS Fall Conference. Chute requested that COSLA members let her or George Smith know before the end of the COSLA meeting.

NCLIS – Beth Fitzsimmons

Fitzsimmons thanked Schull for her words and efforts. Fitzsimmons announced that there would be a two disc CD-ROM set available containing both raw and longitudinal data and NCES data, documentation, and summary publications about libraries.

Fitzsimmons reported that the 2ndBattle of the Books had four times the number of children involved as compared to the first. Last year 75 children were involved compared to this year with over 500 children present on April 21, 2007. The Battle of the Books program has an average cost of $60,000. However, much of this amount is supported by sponsorships and donations. The Battle of the Books program allows children to compete on an intellectual level.

Also included in the NCLIS report is information regarding the NCLIS-IMLS consolidation. Fitzsimmons reported that FY 2007 is being funded by a year long continuing resolution based on FY 2006. The Commission went back to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and submitted a FY 2008 request. The NCLIS “pass back” was zero. NCLIS is continuing forward with many of their current programs. Fitzsimmons stated that NCLIS is not against the consolidation itself, but rather how it was presented.

Legislative Committee – Ken Wiggin/Emily Sheketoff

Wiggin announced that,at the latest, the house appropriations budget will be out on July 4th. Sheketoff thanked the COSLA Membership for their generous contribution to Legislative Day this year. Sheketoff announced that Library Day on the Hill will be June 26th duringthe 2007 Annual Conference in WashingtonD.C. Sheketoff requested that everyone ask their legislators to attend. Library Day on the Hill will feature a parade of bookmobiles showing tourists and spectators what new bookmobiles look like. Sheketoff also mentioned that in the year 2010, Legislative Day may be held earlier in the year and she requested feedback regarding the move to an earlier date.

Wiggin called for support of the inclusion of public libraries to the language in all itemizations in the NCLB Act. There were no objections. The COSLA Membership supported the terminology “qualified library media specialist.” Wiggin will send out the revision.

Wiggin announced that thereis a public library construction survey coming out. The survey will be administered by the state of New Jersey as an online survey.

Wiggin reiterated COSLA’s priorities in regard to LSTA reauthorization. The goal is to introduce the legislation to the new congress in 2009.

Gates Foundation – Ken Wiggin

Wiggin announced that Jill Nishi could not attend the Spring Meeting, but would be present at the Fall Meeting. Akeroyd, Nichols and Wiggin attended the “convening of the partners” in January where the future of the Gates Foundation was discussed. On October 4, 2007 there will be a follow-up meeting. Akeroyd, Nichols and Wiggin will attend this meeting as well.

Norman reported that she attended the initial meeting regarding the Opportunity Online Hardware Grants in Seattle that was held during the ALA Conference. More recently, there was a pre-proposal conference held in Denver. The Gates Foundation will announce the eligible libraries in mid-June. The program lasts for two years. The next cycle of libraries will be eligible to begin next year. There will be 11 states served in 2008 and 11 states served in 2009. The money available is based on poverty levels within an area. The grants will be moving toward sustainability with a 25% matching requirement the first year and a 50% matching requirement the second year. Nichols noted that Nancy Bolt is working with ALA and the Gates Foundation to determine where the Foundation will go with their technology investment in the future.

Research and Statistics – Suzanne Miller

The Research and Statistics Committee continues to oversee the activities of National SDC steering committees for a smooth transition. Miller reported that the SDC Conference may not happen this year, but this is not a permanent situation. There should be a one year only bump in activity.

Miller circulated the 1st edition of the salary survey and announced that the salary survey would be conducted again in the fall, as requested at the Midwinter Meeting. The results will be sent in electronic form.

GPO – Richard Akeroyd (absent)

Nichols asked Joy Poole, attending in Akeroyd’s place, if Akeroyd had passed on any information regarding GPO. Per Poole, Akeroyd said there was not much to report.

Nichols recognized Akeroyd for his time with COSLA.

Continuing Education – Susan McVey

McVey gave an overview of the Fall Meeting Tentative Schedule. Monday, October 15 will be a travel day with the New Chief Orientation beginning at 3:30p.m. At 4:30p.m. there will be a legislative committee meeting and at 6:00p.m. there will be a reception sponsored by Tutor.com. On Tuesday, October 16 the Board will meet from 8:00a.m. until 10:00a.m. and committee meetings will ensue from 10:00a.m. until 12:00p.m. From 1:00p.m. until 5:00p.m. on Tuesday, October 16 there will be the continuing education program and at 5:30p.m. there will be a reception. On Wednesday, October 17ththe Membership meeting will take place from 9:45a.m. until 4:30p.m.

Network Committee – Lamar Veatch

Veatch reported that the Network Committee is reviewing the COSLA website. They are attempting to make it as user friendly as possible. The Network Committee and AMR are researching the possibility of combining the staff directory and the state profiles, which are currently two separately collected sets of information. They will also be looking into making this information a searchable database and discussing whether the printed member directory is needed if a searchable database is utilized. Veatch requested that the COSLA Membership pass on any concerns that they may have to him.

Veatch reported about the possibility of setting up a Wiki and that there will be examples by October. Veatch also reported that there are currently 13 members who have not submitted a photo for the website and requested that those members turn in a photo at their earliest convenience.